What is the top level of your productivity system?

What is the top level of your productivity system? The highest point under which everything else sits? Actually there are a few ways to look at this and some different approaches that you can take.

I’d argue that for most of us, it will be our areas of focus.

In most cases, you might have some kind of overarching vision or purpose that is a bit more general. One that tells how to go about managing your areas of focus.

In rare cases, you will find people who’s overarching vision/purpose/goal is very specific and they focus on this to the exclusion of all else.

Areas of Focus

We love to compartmentalise things don’t we? Actually this is really unhelpful in a lot of ways but it has become the norm.

Blame the 9–5 work week.

This idea established boundaries between work and not work. It created the idea of leisure time. Most of us will still compartmentalise things into areas of life that are important. Commonly these are called ‘areas of focus’. Reagan Rose uses the phrase ‘Domains of Stewardship’.

Most of us want to maintain some kind of balance in our lives and so want to keep on top of these areas or domains. But, here is where the compartmentalisation doesn’t help — you are one person, with one life and so everything is connected.